Rock Climber Dies on Yamnuska

A climber has died after a fall on Yamnuska, a famous mountain with a south-facing wall west of Calgary and close to Canmore. Kananaskis Public Safety, Nakoda EMS, RCMP and Alpine Helicopters responded to the call for help from two climbers around 3:30 p.m. yesterday. It was reported that one of the climbers took a lead fall and their rope cut on a sharp edge.

Upon arriving, emergency services found one of the two climbers deceased. The climber was identified as a Kevin Ross, a 28-year-old man from Cochrane, a small town close to Calgary. The other climber required assistance in getting off the mountain according to RCMP Sgt. Stan Andronyk. “He was assisted off the mountain and does not appear to have suffered any injuries,” Andronyk said.

Yamnuska has over 150 routes, many of which have big run-outs and loose rock. In 2011, Canmore local Akihira Tawara died after falling while soloing Directissima 5.8 on Yamnuska. While it’s not clear why Tawara fell, most climbers believe it was due to holds breaking on the climb. Originally from Japan, Tawara was a confidant 5.13 climber and had spent much of his time living and climbing in the Canmore area. In 2016, a climber fell while climbing Forbidden Corner and had to get heli-rescued with traumatic injuries.

Earlier this year, Matt Snell, 26, tragically died in a climbing accident on Tunnel Mountain in Banff National Park. This is a developing story that we’ll update once we have more details.